The present invention is related to an automated system and method for the selection and retrieval of product information stored in an electronic medium. The invention is particularly useful for the selection of radiant tube heating equipment.
In modern times, it has become routine to provide an entire structure or a space within a structure with equipment to control the interior air temperature. This occurs both in new structures and when retrofitting or renovating existing structures. There are a wide range of products available for supplying the heating requirements of a space or structure. Selection of the appropriate product or products depends on a number of factors including: available energy sources, cost of energy sources, amount of heating required, physical layout and size of the spaces to be heated, size of the equipment, cost of the equipment, etc. When retrofitting existing structures, the delivery mechanism for the heat plays a significant factor. Specifically, routing a ducted forced air system where none previously existed may require extensive remodeling, while installing radiant type heaters might require only minimal structural modification.
Thus, considerable forethought and planning may go into the selection and purchase of air temperature control equipment. A significant factor in the selection of heating products is the determination of how much heating is required for a particular structure or space. An estimate of the heating requirements for a structure can be determined by calculating the amount of heat that is lost from the building to the surrounding environment.
Such calculations are well known and offer different levels of accuracy depending on the information input. A variety of packaged computer programs are available to perform the calculation of a heat loss value based on user inputs. A typical calculation takes into account, the temperature differential between the interior air and the typical outside air during the heating season, the type of building material used in the structure, the number and size of openings (doors, windows, skylights, etc.), the size and type of roof and floor, the amount of insulation, etc. All, or a portion, of this information is then utilized in known formulas to determine an estimate for the amount of heat that is lost to the outside by conduction through the materials.
A determination of the heat loss value may also include the approximate amount of outside air that enters the structure or space during a given time period. This often takes the form of how quickly the air within the structure is exchanged for outside air. Based on this determination, the amount of heat lost by air infiltration may also be taken into account. The combination of the heat lost through conduction and the heat lost by air infiltration provides a reasonable estimate for the heating requirement of the space or structure. This estimate may be then used as a basis for the selection of heating equipment.
After determining the heat loss value for a structure or space, a designer or customer must then find a product or products to satisfy the estimated heating requirements. This process involves reviewing product information either in paper catalogs or more recently, electronic catalogs, to identify equipment that may satisfy the heating requirements. This selection process is particularly cumbersome and time consuming for the selection and specification of radiant tube heating systems where the heat output is dependent both on burner output and tube length. Moreover, tube lengths and configurations must correspond to the dimensions of the space to be heated and to burner and radiant tube layout parameters necessary for safe and efficient operation. Thus, while knowing the heat loss value of structure is a starting point for equipment selection, with respect to radiant tube heating systems, much more detailed information must be generated before a complete system may be assembled.
Thus, there is a need for a convenient system and method of selection for radiant tube heating systems that prompts the user for the appropriate inputs to determine the heat loss value of the structure and then presents the user with available products and configuration parameters to satisfy the heating requirements of a particular structure.